Fedora 9 (SULPHUR) is here! As always it comes along with some new and bleeding edge features such as 2.6.25 kernel, Gnome 2.22.1, KDE 4.1, OpenOffice 2.4, Firefox 3 and PackageKit, a new cross-distribution (!) software management system that has replaced pirut and pup. I've written this guide to help new Fedora users to easilly configure their system. So, grub a Fedora installation disk and let's move on to our system's configuration part.

**Note: In this guide I have included screenshots (wherever it's not to complicated) for those who prefer clicking on buttons than using the terminal. Of course the usuall "open terminal and type ..." instructions are still present.

**Note: The text editor I've been using in this guide is GNOME's default, gedit. If you are using KDE you may use kate. Of course the terminal based text editor, nano, is always a nice choice!

** Note: Because of the many sites that are direct linking to my guide I face heavy traffic. If you wish to donate to help me pay for the hosting and bandwidth you can make a donate. Thank you!

1. Upgrading from Fedora 7/8

A new application has been developed in order to allow Fedora users easilly upgrade to the new release without having to download and cd/dvd. Preupgrade resolves all dependencies, downloads the needed packages, configures grub and finally asks the user just to reboot to complete the upgrade. Install and run Preupgrade by typing:

If you were using the Livna Repository don't forget to also update its packages.su -c 'rpm -Uhv http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release-9.rpm && yum -y update'

2. Configuring sudo

**Note: In my previous Fedora guides I've been using sudo for the commands that needed root access. However since many users don't want to add their user to the sudoers I've decided to change all the commands to the su -c 'command here' way. If you want to type many commands as root it is better to type only the first time su - and give your root password. After that you become root until you type exit. Of course it's up to you to configure sudo or not.

* Modifing sudoers file

Normally if you want to run a command which requires root privileges you first have to type 'su -', type your root password and then type the command. However you can bypass this by using the 'sudo' command. But first you have to configure it like this:

su --login -c 'visudo' Now go below the line:

root ALL=(ALL) ALL press a, and type the following

username ALL=(ALL) ALL where username is the username you use to login. Next press Escape.

Now, if you want to be promted for your root password each time you use the sudo command go to this line:

# %wheel ALL=(ALL) ALL and with your cursor pointing on # press x

If you don't want to be promted for your root password each time you use the sudo command go to this line:

* Adding your user to the wheel group

Just type:

su -c 'gpasswd -a username wheel'

* Adding sbin to your PATH

This step is optional but saves you a lot of time since many commands are located under /usr/sbin and /sbin and when you are trying to execute them as a single user from the terminal you must type their full path. To avoid this type:

su -c 'gedit ~/.bash_profile' Then change the following line:

PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin to

PATH=$PATH:/usr/sbin:/sbin:$HOME/bin

* Testing sudo

To test if you have done it correctly as a simple user type:

$ sudo whoami If everything is working properly the command should return the word 'root'.

3. Configuring yum

* Basic Commands

Below there are the most common commands you will use for yum, Fedora's Package Management System. You can find a more detailed description of those along with some more commands if you type:

* Importing Fedora GPG keys

Fedora has 2 basic repositories named 'fedora' and 'updates'. To use them and not get errors about unsigned packages you must import their GPG keys. Open a terminal and type:

su -c 'rpm --import /etc/pki/rpm-gpg/*'

* Third party Repositories

Fedora software repositories don't include support for MP3, DVD and Video playback/recording because of patent licences. For this reason you have to install that software from third party repositories. But don't worry, this is pretty easy! ;)

Now we are going to install the Livna Repository, a third party repo which provides many multimedia codecs and additional applications. For the rest of this guide I will assume that you have installed and enabled the Livna Repository. So, open a terminal and type:

* Graphical Interface for yum

If you don't like typing commands in your console you can use Fedora's Graphical interface for yum. You can find it under System -> Administration -> Add/Remove Software.

You can also install yumex for this reason.

su -c 'yum install yumex'

* Configure yum through Proxy

If you are behind an http proxy server and you want yum to connect to the internet through that proxy open a terminal and type:

su -c 'gedit /etc/yum.conf' Add this line in the yum configuration

proxy=http://ip:port/ where ip is your proxy's ip address and port is the port the proxy listens to. Don't forget the / after the port number. Save and exit.

* Yum plugins

* yum-fastestmirror

Exactly what its name says. This plugin searches for the fastest mirror in your mirrorlist and downloads all packages from it. To install it type:su -c 'yum install yum-fastestmirror'

* yum-presto

The presto plugin provides faster, smaller size downloads to Fedora users. It downloads only the part of the rpm that has been updated and not the whole package. To install it type:su -c 'yum install yum-presto' Then edit your /etc/yum.repos.d/fedora-updates.repo like this:

su -c 'gedit /etc/yum.repos.d/fedora-updates.repo' comment the mirrorlist line by adding # in front of it and then paste this line:

Now you can change your fonts through System -> Prefereces Look and Feel -> Appearance -> Fonts

7. Configuring Nautilus

* Open each folder in the same window

Go to System -> Preferences -> Personal -> File Management and in the Behavior tab select the Always open in browser windows option.

Now you will use the File Browser to navigate through your folders.

* Open Terminal here

It's very useful to have an 'Open Terminal here' command to easilly open a folder in terminal while you are browsing it in Nautilus. To do so type:

su -c 'yum install nautilus-open-terminal' log out and then log in, right click in a Nautilus window and you'll see the command.

* Enable Num Lock on GNOME startup

su -c 'yum install numlockx su -c 'cp /etc/gdm/Init/Default /etc/gdm/Init/Default_backup' su -c 'gedit /etc/gdm/Init/Default' And add the following lines at the end of the file.

if [ -x /usr/bin/numlockx ]; then /usr/bin/numlockx on fi Save and exit. Now restart X server and check if num lock light is on.

8. Configuring Firefox

* Acrobat Plugin

To be able to view pdf documents through Firefox you must have adobe acrobat reader installed as described here.

* Flash Plugin

Go to Adobe's site and select the 'Yum for Linux' option. Open the file with the default Package Installer. It will install it for you.

Next open the System -> Administartion -> Add/Remove Software and search for flash-plugin. Select to install those two files and import the GPG key or just type:

su -c 'yum install flash-plugin'

Finally restart Firefox and type about:plugins in the address bar. You should Shockwave Flash among the plugins.

Users of Fedora x86_64 must install the nspluginwrapper.i386 and nspluginwrapper.x86_64 packages to enable the 32-bit Adobe Flash plugin in x86_64 Firefox and the pulseaudio-libs.i386 package to enable sound from the plugin.

* mms streaming play

about:config Right click somewhere and select NEW and then STRING. Type this in the box:

network.protocol-handler.app.mms Click ok and in the box type the program you want to open the streaming media with, such as /usr/bin/mplayer.

Next right click again and select NEW and then BOOLEAN. Type this in the box:

network.protocol-handler.external.mms Click ok and then type:

true

* Set backspace button

By default in Fedora's Firefox when you press the backspace button it does nothing. If you want backspace to take you to the previous page type in the address bar:

about:config and in Filter box type:

browser.backspace_action Right click on it, select Modify and change its value from 2 to 0. Restart Firefox and the backspace will be set.

* IPv6

You might notice that your browsing through Firefox is a little slow on Fedora 9. This is because Firefox 3 has enabled by default IPv6 which causes Firefox to first resolve an IPv6 address and after the connection fails it switches to IPv4. To change this setting type:about:config and in Filter box type:

network.dns.disableIPv6 Right click on it, select Togle and change its value to true. Restart Firefox and you are ready!

9. Configuring e-mail client

Fedora 9 has evolution as the default e-mail client. Of course you can install Thunderbird if you prefer it. Just type:

su -c 'yum install Thunderbird'

Now you can find Thunderbird under Applications -> Internet -> Thunderbird Mail Client. To make it the default Fedora mail client go to System -> Preferences -> Personal -> Preferred Applications and under Mail Reader select Thunderbird Mail.

10. MP3 and Audio players

**Note: To install many of the following packages you must have the Livna Repository enabled as described here .

The first time you will try to play an mp3 file Totem Movie PLayer will come up and it will through you a message about Proprietary formats. Here you can download the free fluendo mp3 decoder which will allow you to play mp3s just fine as shown in the screenshots below.

However fluendo doesn't allow you to encode mp3s. In that case you can install mp3 codes from Livna as shown below.

At any time you can uninstall the fluendo codec simply by typing:

rm ~/.gstreamer-0.10/plugins/libgstflump3dec.so

* Rhythmbox

I believe that Rhythmbox is a better mp3 player than the default Totem for Gnome users. You can find it under Applications -> Sound & Video -> Rhythmbox Music Player. If you don't have it, to install it type:

su -c 'yum install gstreamer rhythmbox' To make all mp3 files open by default with Rhytmbox right click on an mp3 file and select 'Open with Other Application...'. Click on Rhytmbox Music Player and you're done. To add mp3 and other audio support type:

* Totem

* Mplayer/SMPlayer

I prefer mplayer and smplayer (mplayer's GUI) for video playback. It supports almost any video type, external subtitles as well as DVD playback as long as you have the needed codecs installed as shown previously.

* Partition Editor

* Google Earth

Go to this page http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html and download GoogleEarthLinux.bin. Next open a terminal and go to the folder you have saved it, ~/Download should be ok. Install it by typing:

su -c 'sh GoogleEarthLinux.bin'

Now you can find it under Applications -> Internet -> Google Earth. Notice that in order it to run ok you must have installed drivers for your video card.

19. Accessing Windows Partitions

Fedora 9 will autodetect the Windows Partitions (FAT32, NTFS) that you may have in your computer's hard disk and it will place an icon of them on the desktop. Moreover ntfs-3g is installed by default which means that you have read/write access in NTFS partitions also.

If you want to enable/disable write support for external and/or internal devices with only two clicks you can install ntfs-config.

20. Accessing Windows Shares

If you want to access the shared of a Windows box of you LAN through Linux and also to be able to view your videos and listen to your mp3 through your local network install smb4k like this:

su -c 'yum install smb4k' Now run smb4k. Go to Settings -> Configure Smb4K -> Samba and put your workgroup's name. Press Ok and exit. Now click on the Refresh button and let smb4k to scan your network. If you have iptables firewall running you must set Samba as a trusted service. To do so open a terminal and type:

Run smb4k and when the shares appear at the left window double click on the one you want. Currently smb4k has a bug with the sudo command. So if you get a message like:

mount error 1 = Operation not permitted Refer to the mount.cifs(8) manual page (e.g.man mount.cifs) open a terminal and type:

su -c 'chmod u+s /sbin/mount.cifs' su -c 'chmod u+s /sbin/umount.cifs' Each time you update smb4k or a samba component you have to run this command again.

21. Compiz-Fusion

Compiz Fusion is the 'cool cube' most of you have seen in a screenshot or video all over the Internet. Fedora 9 comes with a version of it that doesn't have all the features. You can take a look at it under System -> Preferences -> Look and Feel -> Desktop Effects. But if you want to use all the effects, plugins etc. follow the instructions below.

* Official Packages

The compiz-fusion packages found in Fedora repositories are a few versions back but they'll do their work. To install them type:

* Auto start

GNOME:

Go to System -> Preferences -> Personal -> Sessions and click Add. Then type what you see in the screenshot.

KDE:

Open a terminal and type:

ln -s /usr/bin/fusion-icon ~/.kde/Autostart/fusion-icon

Logout and then back in. Now you should see a blue icon in your tray. Right click on it and go to Select Window Manager -> Compiz. You can leave the default Window Decorator or select emerald through Select Window Decorator -> Emerald. If you click on Settings Manager, ccsm will run and you can configure compiz fusion as you like. Enjoy!

22. KDE

* KDE Installation

If you haven't installed KDE during the Fedora installation proccess you can easily install it through yum like this:

* KDE style in gtk applications

Some gtk applications don't look good in KDE. To force those applications use the qt style install qtk-qt-engine.

su -c 'yum install gtk-qt-engine' Log out and then log back in and go to System Settings -> Appearance -> GTK Styles and Fonts and select to use your KDE style in GTK Applications.

* KDE Country Flags

If you have a multilanguage system and you want your country's flag to appear in the tray when you change from one language to the other download kblflags from www.kde-look.org and copy the flag you want as stated below (here I have installed the greek and usa flag).

Log out and then log back in and you should the flag in the tray. Of course you must have it enabled from System Settings -> Regional & Language -> Keyboard Layout -> Show country flag

23. JAVA

Fedora 9 comes with java from the OpenJDK project. It is very easy to install it through yum (if it hasn't already been installed) and it works just fine. Try it! If you still want to install the Sun Java go a few lines below.

* OpenJDK

su -c 'yum install java-*-openjdk'

* SUN's JAVA

First you must install some libraries needed by Sun' Java. Open a console and type:

**Note: If you also want to compile java programs using Sun's Java Development Kit Installation you must download the 'JDK 6 Update 6' file. Accept the agreement and download the Linux self-extracting file (not the RPM file). The procedure is the same as below. You only have to replace jre1 with jdk1 in the following commands.

su -c 'yum remove java-*-openjdk-plugin' su -c 'ln -s /opt/jre1.6.0_06/plugin/i386/ns7/libjavaplugin_oji.so /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/libjavaplugin_oji.so' Restart firefox and type about:plugins in the address bar. If the plugins have successfully installed you should see Java(TM) Plug-in among the plugins.

Now, if you also want to run java programs using Sun's java type in a console:

su -c 'alternatives --remove java /opt/jre1.6.0_06/bin/java' At any time you can easilly change between OpenJDK, GCJ and Sun's JAVA either by running the command

su -c '/usr/sbin/alternatives --config java' To use SUN's java plugin as well type:

# /usr/sbin/alternatives --install /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/libjavaplugin.so \ libjavaplugin.so /opt/jre1.6.0_06/plugin/i386/ns7/libjavaplugin_oji.so 3 # /usr/sbin/alternatives --config libjavaplugin.soNow you can choose whatever java version you want by typing the number in front of it.

24. NetworkManager

Fedora 9 uses NetworkManager by defaul which provides automatic network detection and configuration for the system. However some users may experience problems especially in case they are using static ips. Generally NetworkManager is most useful for modern laptops, where the user may move between wireless networks, and plug in to a variety of wired networks. Therefore, do not apply the following unless you have problems connecting to your Local Network with a static ip or through DHCP.

A common problem relevant to NetworkManager is that each time you boot Fedora your ethernet card is inactive. Moreover, even if you create a wired connection it isn't properly initialized when you login and therefore you don't have ethernet and internet access. In that case continue reading.

First you have to disable NetworkManager and prevent it from loading at each boot.

Thanks for your guides. It is very helpful. Thank you very much. I want to ask you: I have some font on my desktop and I want to install them to font folder. How can I do it?

Thanks Shanyar! To install new fonts open Nautilus and enable hidden files. Create a new folder named .fonts (with the dot in front of it) in ~/ -> ~/.fonts Paste in there your new fonts and then open a terminal and type: fc-cache -f -v Now you should be able to access your fonts through System -> Preferences -> Look and Feel -> Appearance.

axel ,
August 29, 2008

+1

Fedora 9 Repositry error

Hi, actully whenever i try to use Add/Remove software in fedora 9 it show me repomd.xml file error that it not able to find it and spacify its find what i do to overcome the problem. one more thing i m not able to find the file dhcp for configuring dhcp server it showing me dhcp06 file. what i do to make or use dhcp server for all ip versions (4 and 6) please help me i m in truble

sandeep ,
August 29, 2008

+0

JAVA GUIDE

Hi thanks your guide to Java really helped thanks alot!!

As far as i can see fedora 9 is good yet it has problems with "The network manager" and "add and remove programs" takes to long to update its repositories!! not a good thing.

cheers

Paul ,
September 03, 2008

+0

Great Tutorial buddy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks axel, it was a very good tutorial and helped a lot for me... and im sure it will b a good help for any newbie like me...

Rajesh Rao ,
September 05, 2008

+0

...

hi how can i connect to the internet using nokia 6630 mobile phone.

shihab ,
September 11, 2008

+0

Internet Connection

hi shihab,

It has nothing to do with fedora. You can just install Nokia PC Suite and connect through its applications. The only thing you must check is the proxy you will set to firefox/ie/chrome, that depends on your mobile services company..

g0dfather ,
September 11, 2008

+0

...

There is no Nokia PC Suite release for Linux as far as I know.

axel ,
September 13, 2008

+0

Thanks!

Good job...

di Lampedusa ,
September 17, 2008

+0

TNX

Thanks alot man. Awesome installs///!!!!!!!! very good.

Ahmad ,
September 21, 2008

+2

...

very nice guide ... thank you!

pakair ,
September 29, 2008

+0

merci

tre bien

marxdenl ,
October 03, 2008

+0

...

Merci beaucoup! Thanks everyone!

Since Fedora 10 beta is out I've started thinking about my upcoming Fedora 10 Installation Guide. I would like to hear your opinions about the stuff I should add or remove in this guide.

Pls help me with this issue

Hi Axel I've been using the guides for quite a time now.But I faced the problem below twice so thought it would be good to bring it to your notice.

Actually I had installed Compiz-Fusion previously but it was incompatible with my laptop. I noticed that when the new window-manager left me with a blank screen every time I logged in as a normal user.:confused: So all I can currently use is the ROOT user.So I have been searching for means to reset my previous desktop settings.

But it didn't help restore my previous desktop. Pls help me. I'm a novice to using Fedora and am running it on a laptop with just 256MB RAM and 1.3 GHz processor.

Fedorocker ,
October 05, 2008

+0

...

The last time I encountered this problem I just re-installed my Fedora 9 OS. But now I think there ought to exist a better solution. And I don't want to lose the plugins I have already installed.

Fedorocker ,
October 05, 2008

+0

...

Hey Fedorocker. You can try and create a new user. Everything should be fine there.

axel ,
October 11, 2008

+0

Nice

Good job! this is great for a new install of F9 Fedora works nice if you have done 'everything' in this guide. i dont like compiz, it slows down my geforce FX5200 card. but now i can use linux whithout needing to google every things i need, THANXXXX

Fedaniel ,
October 14, 2008

+0

Thanks Very Much

Excellent guide - the hint about turning off IPV6 DNS lookups in Firefox kept me from giving up on F9, because it was very slow on my older laptop - a Thinkpad R50e.

For anyone else having performance issues on a laptop, try installing on an XFS filesystem. (I read somewhere that /boot has to remain xfs3) Another way to cut down on disk access is to mount your filesystems with the "noatime" option in /etc/fstab.

It's now as fast as windows, and no annoying antivirus/malware sweeps.

MarkD ,
October 25, 2008

+0

...

Hey MarkD, I'm glad it helped you.

XFS is much faster than ext3. However there is a disadvantage. If the power goes down you may lose your data.. Thus it is recommended to have a UPS if you use XFS partitions. However since you have a laptop its battery will work as a UPS and therefore you are just fine.

You are right, noatime increases your disk read speed.

axel ,
October 25, 2008

-1

You are Green too!!!!

Very informative and easy to enhance your knowledge on commonly used functions. You are Green too!!!

Thanks

Hulk ,
October 26, 2008

-1

Thanks

I've just installed the respin from fedora-unity and I always forget some config to do so thank you for this guide, it compile all we need to have a well configured fedora system.

Great job!

abz ,
November 05, 2008

+0

...

Hi Axel I've been using the guides for quite a time now.But I faced the problem below twice so thought it would be good to bring it to your notice.

Actually I had installed Compiz-Fusion previously but it was incompatible with my laptop. I noticed that when the new window-manager left me with a blank screen every time I logged in as a normal user.:confused: So all I can currently use is the ROOT user.So I have been searching for means to reset my previous desktop settings.

...

Thank you Akos for the correction.

axel ,
November 11, 2008

+1

drive access problem in user mode

can any1 plz solve this problem: when i am in root i can access all drives including windows but when i log in as normal user i cant access any of the drives except own linux drive. also i 've installed fluendo decoder for mp3 .its working in root but when i login as normal user it says codecs not found .what should i do? is there any way i can access all the drives from normal user account .also i am using linuxdcpp ,in sharing section i've shared some data from windows partitions ,its working fine in root mode but in use mode it says u dont have sufficient priviledge to access those folders in windows drives.plz help.....

jigsaw ,
November 16, 2008

+0

...

Removed.

axel ,
November 16, 2008

+0

Home user

This page is excellent. However, both times I used Fedora 9, I am unable to see the Linux shares from a Windows XP machine. I have tried everything I know to configure both machines, even to the point of shutting down the Firewall and SELinux on the Linux box, and Windows Firewall on the Windows XP box.

Ubuntu is up and running in less than an hour! After two days, I still cannot get Fedora 9 to work on my home network. There needs to be a more reliable way before I can adopt Fedora. (Mepis also installs easier than Fedora 9)

Kevin

Kevin Rosteing ,
November 19, 2008

+0

...

Hey Kevin,

It's been a long time since I last used samba. But if you still haven't solve it you can open a new thread in the Linux Forum section to discuss it better there.

Regards, axel

axel ,
November 27, 2008

+0

Thanks

Thanks for the article. Today i realised that "the best things in the world are free." Best regards.

Nanda ,
November 28, 2008

+0

an error with rpmbuild !!

this is the error i got ! what should i do ? apar from this error .. i can just say YOU ARE THE MAN !!! what u did ova here an awsome job man !! que buen tio merci hope to get answer for this error also thanks hasan gujar

hasan gujar ,
December 11, 2008

+0

...

Hey hasan,

Thanks man! I don't know if this will work for the 64bit Fedora but you can give it a try.

Open w32codec.spec with gedit, or any other editor, and change ExclusiveArch: i386with ExclusiveArch: x86_64 . Then try to build the rpm again.

axel ,
December 12, 2008

+0

...

Axel, your guide is fantastic!! Very thankful for having it out there.I am using Fedora9 in VmWare. Your guide helped me resolve many kinks in the VM device.

Jeffy Joseph ,
March 12, 2009

+0

...

Hi Joseph. You are very welcome! Thanks for your comment!

axel ,
March 13, 2009

+0

error

Hi ,thank you for everything .But I can not disable rpmfusion repo anyhow help me

fazliddin ,
March 27, 2009

+0

...

Hi fazliddin,

In /etc/yum.repos./ you should see an rpmfusion.repo file (or something like this). Open this file with gedit and set enabled=0.

axel ,
March 28, 2009

+0

Valuable Guide.

This is one of the valuable guide for Fedora 9. I love this guide. Hats off to creator.

Amar Patil ,
April 12, 2009

+0

I have problem from the drivers

I can instal the fedora 9 but their is no media player and no adobe reader. any may other thing. please help me.

Abubkar ,
April 13, 2009

+0

...

Thanks a lot Amar Patil! You are very welcome!

Abukar, since Fedora 10 is out for a few months now, why don't you consider installing this one? I have published Fedora 10 Installation Guide. It will be helpful.

If you insist on using Fedora 9 again take a look at my Fedora 10 Installation Guide to learn how to install adobe reader. In this guide I mention how to install some video players, but Livna is no longer working so you will have to use RPMFusion to get the appropriate packages and codecs.

PS: I have removed your email address so that you'll avoid being spammed.

axel ,
April 14, 2009

+0

Accessomg Pc

how to access windows pc from linux and same linux from windows

Ashok Gupta ,
June 10, 2009

+0

...

Hi Ashok, you will have to configure Samba. You can find many tutorials in the web about that. Unfortunatelly the place here is too small to describe you how. At some time I must write a guide about this..

axel ,
June 11, 2009

+0

network

hai sir am new to linux o s . how to configure the settings to broadband connection.

intyaz hussain s ,
May 17, 2010

+1

...

If you have a router with DNS enabled you should automatically be connected to the internet once you plug in the ethernet cable in your network card.

axel ,
May 17, 2010

+0

just ?

Sir! I cant install fedora 9 on a perticular partition what ever i want and i cant understand the options given there. can u please guide me for this.

Akram ,
May 19, 2010

+0

...

Hi Akram. Well you can read the following two articles. They should answer some of your questions.